Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night
by Batman and Ronon
Summary: An AU story, following Rodney McKay at his lowest.
1. Chapter 1

The sun hung low in the sky that day over Atlantis. The city usually filled with such life and noise was now, for the first time in four years silent. Everything seemed dead and for Rodney McKay's sake he wished that were true.

Deep beneath the water level of the city, in a much darker part of the city, Rodney laid on the cold hard floor. For months now he and what was left of the cities previous occupants, had been tortured. And just when they thought they could take no more and they were spent, they would be cast aside and left to rot until such a time when their new masters would require their services once again.

The door swung open, a brilliant white light streaming through, and like a pack of scared animals, everyone in the room scampered to the edges of the room. A slender figure stood in the doorway, hands clasped behind its back, casting an ominous shadow. "Rodney McKay." The figure stated sharply and without emotion.

Looking up at the doorway, Rodney nodded weakly and gulped down hard, brushing the dirt from his face. Getting to his feet he heard the murmurs, the whispers in the dark. Some wished for his safe return while others were just plain relieved to not have been picked.

Approaching the door, he raised his head, a hint of pride in his step. Pride was all he had now, and he'd made a promise to himself a long time ago that he'd keep that.

The closer he got to the doorway, the more his eyes burned, the light not a commodity down in 'The Pit,' or so everyone called it. That was all it was, a small room with no excess light and one exit which lead only to pain and suffering.

Determined, Rodney saw this as a challenge, and without blinking he walked out of 'The Pit' barely taking a glance back. Pursing his lips together he turned his attention to the figure standing beside him, a young woman, maybe in her early thirties. A smirk spread across her face and she slammed the door shut behind him, motioning down the long corridor.


	2. Chapter 2

Proceeding down the all-to familiar corridor, Rodney stared straight ahead. There at the other end of the corridor was a door, and what lay beyond it no one had spoken of in a very long time. He could still hear Jennifer's screams, the awful smell that oozed out, a smell of rusted iron mixed with sulphur. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her exiting the room, her hair covering her face, blood dripping down, muttering to herself.

Looking down at his hands he realized they were shaking and sweat was forming profusely on his forehead, mixing with the dirt that covered his face and dripping into his eyes. Blinking it away and rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, a single tear rolled down his face. He, the arrogant, self-centered, egotistical, man that had caused so much grief over the past four years at Atlantis, was actually crying.

His speed almost reduced to a mere shuffle, attracted the woman's attention and she nudged him in the back, with the butt of her rifle, bringing him to his knees. Spreading his arms out in front of him, he forced himself up slightly, his breathing hitching. His bones ached from the lack of exercise and he dropped his head, his tears dropping to the floor beneath him.

Grabbing the back of his tattered jacket she pulled him to his feet and shoved him forward, not a hint of compassion or pity in her actions. Only brutality. Forcing himself to carry on, he hunched up, his pride all but gone now. Looking up only to see how far away the door was, Rodney exhaled heavily, his sorrow gone now, replaced with something much more sinister and alien to him. Anger, pure anger, fueled by his drive to kill everyone who had hurt Jennifer.

Reflexively he looked to the right of the door for the panel which would open the door. Its usual cool blue colour had changed to a sickly orange, wires crudely hanging from it, in their attempt to hack the doors themselves. Pushing past him, the woman snorted obnoxiously and swiped a card through the new door's mechanism. Taking a few seconds to register the action, the door slowly slid open, a whirring sound coming from deep within the door, as if only grudgingly obliging the request.

Within this new room was the transporter, the cramped space of it a relief from the long and daunting corridor. Stepping inside he realised the lights had been dimmed to at least half their original level, probably to save power, but most suspected it was to keep their spirits low. Behind him the woman entered and strode towards the console, tapping one of the lighted dots. The door slamming shut a whole lot faster and more aggressively than it opened, the lights went fully out and McKay closed his eyes, clutching his arm tightly.

Feeling an almost weightlessness sensation pass through his whole body for just a second, McKay let go of all of his troubles for just a second, remembering a time before 'The Reckoning.' Before he knew it, the sensation was gone and he was back in reality, the doors sliding open to reveal another similarly bland and colourless corridor. Having to be pushed out into it by the woman, he scowled and muttered a curse under his breath, mentally adding her to his list of people he'd kill when he got the chance.

Turning right, already knowing the procedure well by now, Rodney walked at a steady pace. Suddenly a commotion could be heard up ahead, shouting followed by a series of screams and the distinct sound a bones being cracked. Bursting round the corner a young man, blood pouring down the side of his face he pulled out a sidearm and fired blindly behind him. As he wheeled around, McKay caught his first good look at him. The man stopped and cracked a smile as he looked at Rodney and shouted, almost gloriously. "Rodney. You're a sight for sore eyes."

Squinting, Rodney tilted his head, knowing the mans face but not able to put it to a name. The woman behind McKay levelled her rifle before this man could even think and shot. Landing in a heap by the wall, the man lay there motionless, blood dripping from his mouth, no sign of life in his eyes whatsoever. Something clicked in McKay's head and he stared in disbelief. "Lorne…"


	3. Chapter 3

It had all happened so fast, he hadn't even said anything to him before he… he'd just watched him die. He hadn't even tried to stop her. Taking a step back, McKay covered his mouth. Turning round quickly he fell to his knees and threw up by the side of the room, closing his eyes, the savagery of the act causing all his emotions and food to erupt.

Considering the Doctor knelt down by the side of the room, she only felt disgust and walked over to him, kicking him hard in the chest. Rodney fell to the floor, clutching his chest, coughing up some more sick coupled with some blood. "Get up." She straightened out her uniform, checking her rifle without giving McKay a second thought. Rodney glanced up at her, struggling back up from the floor, smearing his jacket with the assortment of liquids on the floor. "I said get the fuck up!" Grabbing his jacket roughly, she pulled him up, succeeding in tearing a little more of his jacket, not that it made much difference to McKay now.

His morale severely lowered now, McKay headed down the corridor, having to be egged on by some brute force from his little ray of sunshine following him. The end of the corridor revealed a large room, a little brighter than anywhere on the base. Turning his head to the left as he entered the room he smiled. There sat the Stargate, his last real hope of freedom left in the galaxy. Without even realizing it, he'd stopped, transfixed by it, a twinkle in his eye and a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time. But as usual that was ripped away from him as the cold hard butt of a rifle hit him in the side of his head, drawing more blood and anger from McKay.

Purposely keeping his eyes away from the woman he turned and approached the stairs, taking a look around the once magnificent gate room. The windows which once let in a beautiful light which gave the room a natural feel, were now boarded up with large sheets of metal. The lights now shone out the same colour of orange the panel had earlier and the most important thing of all was missing. The people. The woman and himself were the only two people in the entire room, and neither one of them was in a particularly talkative mood. Rising the stairs, McKay was complete devoid of thought, something he would never have admitted in public, but he was nonetheless. Turning towards the briefing room as he reached the top of the steps he waited outside the closed doors and lowered his head. Walking up beside McKay, the woman tapped her personal radio and spoke clearly into it, a hint of inferiority in her voice. "I've brought Rodney McKay for you sir." Any emotion she showed was enough to peak Rodney's interest but he didn't have time to look into it further as one of the doors slid open.

The woman turned away from the door as it opened and scuttled away, leaving McKay to make the rest of the way himself. The first Rodney noticed every time he entered this room was that it was well lit yet a lot barer than it used to be. He couldn't quite explain it but everything looked a lot greyer. All of the tables and chairs were still in the same place but at the far end of the room, was a large, very grand chair. It was facing away from him and the back was too high for Rodney to see it's occupant but he knew who was in it. Stepping tentatively into room, Rodney walked towards the centre of the room, waiting patiently.

After what seemed like hours a voice spoke out from behind the chair. "Good morning Doctor." The chair spun around and an old, but strong looking man came into view. A warm smile played over his lips and he motioned to a chair on the other side of the table to the old man. "Please take a seat."


	4. Chapter 4

Seemingly unfazed by the man's strangely normal behaviour, McKay pulled the seat out and lowered himself into it, keeping some distance between him and the table, half expecting it to booby trapped. This authority figure as Rodney deemed him, at first glance seemed like any other old man he'd ever met. Grey hair, wrinkles a plenty and a slightly hunched figure. And yet something was different about him. He looked like he could take Rodney on and come out the victor if he chance ever arose. Something McKay seriously doubted since no one around here wanted to get dirty themselves. His voice reminded him just of his granddad, he really hated him, in fact he wasn't really fond of any of his family, besides Jeannie of course but that was beside the point at this juncture.

Staring into the old man's eyes Rodney realized just how green they were. They were really green, not even the average type of really green they were… green! It then occurred to McKay he was being rude and that was the last thing he wanted to be around these nut jobs, a lesson that had cost him a lot more one of his fingers. Looking down at the table, Rodney waited.

The old man clasped his hands together, the smile fading from his face and a darkness clouding his eyes.

"Name?"

Looking up Rodney sighed as if exhausted and answered plainly.

"Rodney McKay"

"Rank?"

"Doctor."

"Current assigned location?"

"Atlantis."

Having listed off the last few questions trivially, the old man leant forward, eager to carry on.

"What is the access code needed to activate the Stargate?"

McKay looked up at the man and stayed silent, his foot tapping lightly and slowly against the floor, almost afraid to break eye contact with him.

Leaning forward the man suddenly seemed a lot bolder and sterner, his voice going much lower and formal. "The access code, Doctor."

Keeping his eyes locked with the man's, McKay's foot tapped a lot faster on the floor, making a more noticeable noise that he was sure the other man could hear. This went on for a few more minutes, Rodney keeping his promise to himself and Jennifer that he wouldn't break and the other man trying to find a break in his defences. Breaking the silence in a much more subtle, yet threatening tone, the man's curled upwards into a slight smirk. "Honourable to the end, like all of those before you I see. So be it."

Stepping out from the shadows, a tall brooding figure emerged. Standing behind McKay he took both of his arms and yanked him of out his seat, nearly tearing his arms off in the process. Turning his attention to the ceiling for the first time ever he stared at what appeared to be a pair of restraints hanging there. Pulling McKay's arms up, the man placed Rodney's hands in the restraints and locked them. "Now Doctor I really must insist. The Access Codes, now."

Against his own better judgement Rodney remained silent. The old man flipped a switch on his chair and restraints began moving upwards, McKay's feet lifting from the floor, leaving him dangling there. Rodney's eyes widened and he stared at the floor, swinging his legs back and forth frantically, his toes barely grazing the floor. "I'll let you think over your decision, over the nest few hours. Goodbye Doctor."

Getting to his feet the old man walked past Rodney and departed the room with the other man. The lights in the room suddenly went out, and the door slid shut, leaving McKay alone in the dark.


End file.
